Budget statement

APPROPRIATIONS FOR NATIONAL DEFENCE 2018

On 12 December 2017 the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania approved the Law on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets. Appropriations for the Ministry of National Defence amounts to 873 million Euros or 2.01% of GDP (according to the macroeconomic indicator forecast of the Ministry of Finance, updated on 11 September 2017). The appropriations of the MoD increased by 149.2 million Euros, or 20.6% as compared with 2017.

The budget of the Lithuanian national defence system has been balanced according to NATO requirements for the proportions of expenditure areas since 2015. According to these requirements, funding for personnel cannot exceed 50% and major procurement and upgrade of weaponry and materiel cannot take up less than 20% of the appropriations for the Ministry of National Defence.

In the 2018 Defence Budget 41.6% of the appropriations is allotted for personnel needs and 43.2% - for contracts (investments and other property, weapons and military equipment, war reserves, strategic and non-expendable stocks). Roughly 15.4% of all appropriations is allotted for running coasts (including subsidies to municipalities).

Priority areas for MoD investments in 2018:

Fulfilment of long-term contractual obligations in accordance to continuous investment projects of the national defence system,

Development and upgrading of vehicle pools, special equipment, materiel and infrastructure for designated tasks of the national defence system.

Development of C2, cyber security and intelligence systems.

Dynamics of appropriations of the Ministry of National Defence in diagram for 2008-2018:

* Data for 2017 is provided having taken into account the planned but not used amounts of appropriations for 2017 which will be used in 2018 according to the Law on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets.

Notes:

1. Data on the implementation of the MoD Budget is provided for 2008-2017, and approved plan of appropriations is provided for 2018.

2. Data for 2008-2016 is provided in accordance with the contemporary GDP and prices announced by the Lithuanian Department of Statistics .

3. Data for 2017-2018 is provided in accordance with GDP projection of September 2017 announced by the Ministry of Finance.

Implementation of the MoD budget across expenditure sectors

*In 2017 Lithuania allotted 723.8 million Euros or 1.75% of GDP for national defence (after having assessed appropriations for non-expendable stocks and on the basis of contracts with foreign provides on investment projects planned but not used in 2017, which will be available in 2018 according to the Law on the Approval of Financial Indicators of the State Budget and Municipal Budgets.